See id. In light of Milkovich, Neely, and Bentley, we conclude that the column's gist that the Tatums were deceptive when they wrote Paul's obituary is sufficiently verifiable to be actionable in defamation. at 62 (In this defamation suit involving two physicians, we clarify a longstanding distinction between defamation and defamation per se). at 894. All rights reserved. See DuncanHubert v. Mitchell, 310 S.W.3d 92, 103 (Tex.App.Dallas 2010, pet. Corporate Compliance Real Estate & Property Law Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Slander is an oral defamation. The Court issued an opinion resolving the case on May 11, 2018. Id. 7. Public figure status is a question of law for the court. John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum, Appellants v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc. and Steve Blow, Appellees. Posted By : / chsaa basketball rule book /; Under :international cultureinternational culture Smith v. Deneve, 285 S.W.3d 904, 909 (Tex.App.Dallas 2009, no pet.). See Hancock v. Variyam, 400 S.W.3d 59, 64 (Tex.2013) (Defamation per quod is defamation that is not actionable per se.). We therefore do not address whether those categories apply here. See Waste Mgmt. In cases not covered by these mandates, Texas has generally made truth an affirmative defense to defamation. News | Dallas Morning News 7848 News In this Section: Public Safety Weather Politics Crime Transportation Man accused of stealing earthquake donations from Flower Mound mosque arrested. Become a business insider with the latest news. Again, a statement is defamatory if it tends to (i) injure the subject's reputation, (ii) expose him to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or financial injury, or (iii) impeach his honesty, integrity, or virtue. In the present case, the column's implicit assertion that the Tatums committed deception is similaran accusation that the Tatums willfully wrote a misleading obituary for the purpose of deceiving readers, possibly to protect themselves from suspicion of being negligent or inattentive parents. Appellees further argue that the column does not omit or juxtapose facts in such a way as to make its gist false. We agree that the column's gist associates the obituary with deception, which denotes an intention to deceive, often for personal advantage. Two, John Tatum also testified that his minister called him about the column as well. But a statement couched as an opinion may be actionable if it expressly or implicitly asserts facts that can be objectively verified. Agriculture Law The trial court granted Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' action under the Texas Citizens Participation Act. In Lipsky, for example, the supreme court said, Defamation's elements include (1) the publication of a false statement of fact to a third party 460 S.W.3d at 593 (emphasis added). b. In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d 579, 593 (Tex.2015) (orig.proceeding). The 2010 column, Shrouding suicide leaves its danger unaddressed, urged the public to talk more openly about suicide. It does not mention those proceedings, nor does it report any statements or findings made in the course of those proceedings. 13, 2015, pet. Daily resource for best restaurants in Dallas, recommendations for things to do, local news and commentary on life in Dallas. The column purported to support this gist with the factual assertion that Paul committed suicide out of remorse, implicitly calling the obituary's statement that Paul died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident a lie. Based on his investigation, he concluded that the primary impact involved in the accident was moderate to severe, and that the accident was severe enough that it would have subjected a human occupant of the vehicle to, at a very minimum, the risk of a mild TBI [traumatic brain injury], such as a concussion.. At issue is. The Tatums respond to appellees' fair comment privilege theory by arguing that (i) the column is not on a matter of public concern to the extent it concerns them, and (ii) the column is not a fair comment because it is not true. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was neither true nor substantially true? Search by Name. A publication's gist is its main point, material part, or essence, as perceived by a reasonable person. Because the evidence raises a genuine fact issue that the column's gist was neither true nor substantially true, appellees' traditional and no-evidence summary judgment grounds addressing truth and substantial truth cannot support the trial court's judgment. 7. Although there is evidence that people in Paul's high school community were discussing his death generally, and that unspecified others in north Dallas were also discussing it before the column was published, there is no evidence that the cause or manner of Paul's death affected anyone other than the Tatums. What is the column's gist regarding the Tatums? But averting our eyes from the reality of suicide only puts more lives at risk. Appellees, however, do not contend that the Tatums are public officials or general-purpose public figures. In the ePaper section, you'll find: A digital replica of the print edition to give you all the news you need each day Additional ePaper-only bonus content, including extra comics and puzzles Applying Neely here, we conclude that a reasonable factfinder could find that the column's false gist, as discussed above, was more damaging to the Tatums' reputation than a hypothetical truthful account that acknowledged their claims that they reached a good faith conclusion about the cause of Paul's suicide and did not accuse them of deception. The Dallas Morning News, Inc. and Steve Blow, Petitioners v. John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum, Respondents No. The Tatums' friend Lee Simpson testified by affidavit that he was contacted by Tomaso about Paul's death and that Tomaso did not ask him whether the Tatum family wanted to be contacted. Appellees also argue that the column cannot reasonably be read to suggest that Paul had a mental illness. Our supreme court, however, has embraced the Milkovich verifiability test. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875; Main v. Royall, 348 S.W.3d 381, 389 (Tex.App.Dallas 2011, no pet.). at 1019. New York Times v. Sullivan-Alabama city commissioner sued NY Times -said an ad they published describing mistreatment of African American students had defamed him by implication-some of the statements in the ad were false or exaggerated, but those were small details Find an Obituary. Tax Law THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM; from Dallas County; 5th Court of Appeals District (05-14-01017-CV, 493 SW3d 646, 12-30-15) TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. Reckless disregard means that the publisher entertained serious doubts about the publication's truth or had a high degree of awareness of the publication's probable falsity. I'm troubled that we, as a society, allow suicide to remain cloaked in such secrecy, if not outright deception. 07060041CV, 2007 WL 1098476, at *4 (Tex.App.Amarillo Apr. Think of how much more attention we pay to the latter. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. We're nearly obsessed with crime. Issue Two: Did the trial court err by dismissing the Tatums' DTPA claims? (to cause to believe the false); Deceive, Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage (3d ed.2011) (to induce someone to believe in a falsehood); Deceive, The New Oxford American Dictionary (2001) (cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage).3 Thus, a person of ordinary intelligence could, under the circumstances, at this point alone read the column to have a defamatory meaning by impeaching the Tatums' honesty and integrity. Julie recently wrote a blog item titled Don't omit from the obit, urging more openness about suicide as a cause of death. WFAATV, Inc.,978 S.W.2d at 572. The medical examiner ruled the teens death a suicide. A statement does not have to refer to the plaintiff by name, however, if people who know and are acquainted with the plaintiff reasonably understand from reading the statement that it referred to the plaintiff. Main, 348 S.W.3d at 395; see also Houseman v. Publicaciones Paso del Norte, S.A., 242 S.W.3d 518, 525 (Tex.App.El Paso 2007, no pet.) In our view, this fact does not relate to the DMN's obituary services themselves, and thus it does not constitute information concerning those services, as is required by 17.46(b)(24). Turner, 38 S.W.3d at 114. A reasonable juror could conclude that a hypothetically true column would have been less damaging to the Tatums' reputation because it would have mentioned that the Tatums claimed to have written the obituary in a good faith belief in its truth and without an intent to deceive. Subscribe to Justia's She has since written a book, Struck by Living. The Tatums assert two appellate issues: (1) The trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their libel claims; and (2) the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their DTPA claims. OPINION . But a topic is not a public controversy merely because some people are talking about it: A general concern or interest will not suffice. The Tatum filed suit alleging libel and libel per se against Petitioners alleging that the column at issue defamed them. DMN also asserted the following no-evidence grounds: There was no evidence that the Tatums were consumers. That question remains to be decided by the factfinder. Because we conclude that the evidence raised a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was true or substantially true regarding the Tatums, we need not decide which side had the burden of proof. We agree with the Tatums. Applicable Law and Summary Judgment Grounds. Sch. Antitrust & Trade Regulation Neely v. Wilson, 418 S.W.3d 52, 59 (Tex.2013). App.Dallas Dec. 30, 2015, pet. Rhetorical hyperbole is extravagant exaggeration employed for rhetorical effect. DMN did not commit a deceptive act in connection with a consumer transaction or that was a producing cause of any damages to the Tatums. See McConnell v. Southside Indep. Nonetheless, a journalist may not omit and juxtapose facts in such a way as to make the facts reported convey a false gist or meaning. Accordingly, the Tatums submitted enough evidence to raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether they believed what they said in the obituary was true, did not intend to mislead or deceive anyone, and did not believe Paul suffered from mental illness. We next ask whether there was evidence that the column's gist was false. To accuse someone of deception is to impeach his or her honesty and integrity. But what was apparent to every witness on the scene that day was that Pillsbury had walked a few paces from his car and shot himself. Although the column does not expressly make these assertions, roughly the last third of the column discusses the prevalence of suicide (specifically among young people), laments public silence about suicide's frequent cause (mental illness), and concludes, Awareness, frank discussion, timely intervention, treatmentthose are the things that save lives. 0
Subscribe https://t.co/MqPw2ZUctn The Tatums submitted evidence showing that: One, their motive in stating that Paul died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident was to express their belief, after investigation, that the best explanation of the underlying cause of Paul's suicide was a brain injury sustained in the auto accident. Naturally, with such a well-known figure, the truth quickly came out. filed), we noted that "[p]lacing the burden of proving truth or falsity is a complex . The Dallas Morning News Access ePaper Optimized for your device. Even if the statements in a publication are not defamatory when taken individually, a publication can be defamatory if it creates a defamatory impression by omitting material facts or juxtaposing facts in a misleading way. He was born on January 12, 1953 to Albert Tatum and . We reject the Tatums' second appellate issue. Id. Election Law Do you think that might be important for parents to understand? Id. The trial court granted summary judgment for Petitioners. Some obituary readers tell me they feel guilty for having such curiosity about how people died. He then called a friend, and their conversation prompted her and her mother to drive to the Tatums' house during the early morning hours of May 18. Yet we're nearly blind to the greater threat of self-inflicted violence. This is some evidence of actual malice. Crediting the Tatums' evidence as we must, we conclude that a reasonable factfinder could find that the column's gist was false. filed). dallas morning news v tatum oyezmedical emergency tabletop exercise. We perceive no extravagant exaggeration in the column. They also produced evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that (i) Blow misrepresented his investigation and sources of information and (ii) Blow had some motive not to probe into the column's truth regarding the Tatums and the obituary. If a publication is of ambiguous or doubtful import, however, the jury must determine its meaning. We remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The above parts alone could cause a person of ordinary intelligence to read the column as accusing the Tatums of deceit by writing an obituary that stated a false cause of Paul's death and concealed the true cause of his death (for their own self-benefit and to the detriment of society as a whole). In May 2010, Paul was a seventeen-year-old high school student. See Gilbert Tex. at 47. Posted By : / seattle kraken hoodie mens /; Under :reflexive pronouns grade 2reflexive pronouns grade 2 He testified that he knew that Bruce Tomaso and Kevin Sherrington looked into Paul's death, and that he could not remember specifically which of them provided him with the information he used in the column. Blow testified that he did not review any documents regarding Paul's death or the car accident earlier that night, did not interview anyone with the Dallas Police Department or the medical examiner's office, and did not attempt to contact the Tatums before drafting the column. The column's headline and opening sentence announce that deception and secrecy are the column's topics. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue that DMN violated 17.46(b)(24)? Believing that Paul's suicide was caused by a brain injury he sustained in the earlier automobile accident, the Tatums stated in the obituary that Paul died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. The obituary was published on May 21, 2010. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 63. Am. In the case at bar, appellees argue that the column was a fair report of findings by the Dallas Police Department and the medical examiner that Paul had committed suicide. The Tatums purchased a space in the Dallas Morning News to publish an obituary for their son. There was a car crash, all right, but death came from a self-inflicted gunshot wound [page break] in a time of remorse afterward. at 62 ([S]tatements that are not verifiable as false cannot form the basis of a defamation claim.); see also Bentley v. Bunton, 94 S.W.3d 561, 57985 (Tex.2002) (accusations that a judge was corrupt were sufficiently verifiable to constitute actionable statements of fact). a. at 60. In adopting the verifiable as false test in Bentley and Neely, the Texas Supreme Court relied on the United States Supreme Court's decision in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990). In this context, actual malice means knowledge of, or reckless disregard for, the falsity of a statement. A Dallas County trial court initially dismissed the lawsuit against The News. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. V. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, Appellees . (the undisclosed information must be about the goods or services being rendered). at 1001 & n.1. Blow explained that he acted differently in investigating this column because he had been told that Paul's family did not want to discuss the matter. Dallas Morning News Leading daily newspaper serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area. And the gist includes an implication that the Tatums' motive for deceiving readers was to conceal that Paul had suffered from a mental illness that the Tatums failed to confront. We construe an allegedly defamatory publication as a whole, in light of the surrounding circumstances, based on how a person of ordinary intelligence would perceive it. Austin v. Inet Techs., Inc., 118 S.W.3d 491, 496 (Tex.App.Dallas 2003, no pet.). Appellants John and Mary Ann Tatum sued appellees Steve Blow and The Dallas Morning News (DMN) for libel regarding a column that Blow wrote and DMN published one month after the Tatums' son Paul committed suicide. To the extent West is similar to the instant case, we disagree with it. See Deceive, The New Oxford American Dictionary (cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage). Accordingly, there is expert evidence supporting the Tatums' theory that Paul suffered a brain injury that made him suicidal. Is there evidence that the column's gist was false? Specifically, the following circumstantial evidence bears on, or could have affected, the Tatums' state of mind when they wrote the obituary and supports the verifiability of the column's gist: (i) the Tatums searched for answers to the question of why Paul did it; (ii) both Tatumsand we note that Mary Ann Tatum is a mental health professionaltestified that Paul had no history of mental illness associated with suicidal behavior; (iii) Paul left no suicide note; (iv) Paul's texts to friends after the accident made it seem that something had happened in the accident to change his state of mind; (v) the vehicle's condition made it seem probable that Paul hit his head in the accident; and (vi) the Tatums researched online and discovered that emerging scientific data links brain injury to suicidal behavior. In his affidavit, Blow said that he wrote the column to express his opinion that it is troubling that society allows suicide to remain cloaked in secrecy and deception, and that secrecy about suicide leaves us greatly underestimating the danger of it. He also testified by deposition that if he discovered a deception, a misleading obituary, that's fair game for commentary. Additionally, Julie Hersh testified by deposition that she met with Blow before he published the column and that they were both outraged by the lack of discussion about suicide. They argue that the column is literally true because all its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums are true. Antitrust Communications Law Issue One: Did the trial court err by dismissing the Tatums' libel claims? Haynes is distinguishable. Zoning, Planning & Land Use. Prac. They also sued DMN for DTPA violations. Prac. The Tatums' response relied on the following evidence: One, John Tatum testified by affidavit that his friend Lee Simpson called to inform him about the column the day it was published. featuring summaries of federal and state And, for a matter to be a public controversy, its resolution must affect people beyond its immediate participants. The column was true or substantially true. 2015 WL 5156908, at *6 n.6. A no-evidence summary judgment should be reversed if the evidence is sufficient for reasonable and fair-minded jurors to differ in their conclusions. To the extent a negligence standard applies, there was no evidence of negligence. After the accident, he began sending incoherent text messages to friends. 8. Redirecting to https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/dallas-cowboys-cut-move-dallas-cowboys-reveal-tyron-smith-contract-plan-change The Seventh Circuit said in dicta that these statements were probably nonactionable as obvious statements of opinion, but the court held that Haynes's claims failed because he alleged no pecuniary injury from these statements. Prac. The hypothetical person of ordinary intelligence is one who exercises care and prudence, but not omniscience, when evaluating an allegedly defamatory communication. Paul died from a gunshot wound to the head. Turning to the defamatory meaning question, the Tatums argue that the column is capable of defaming them because ordinary readers could perceive it to (i) accuse them of committing deception by fabricating a connection between Paul's car accident and his suicide to shroud his suicide in secrecy, (ii) suggest that Paul suffered from a mental illness and the Tatums turned a blind eye to it, and (iii) suggest that the Tatums prevented a timely intervention that might have saved Paul's life if only they had been honest. Newspapers, Inc. v. Matthews, 339 S.W.2d 890, 893 (Tex.1960). When reviewing a traditional summary judgment for a defendant, we determine whether the defendant conclusively disproved an element of the plaintiff's claim or conclusively proved every element of an affirmative defense. See D Magazine Partners, L.P. v. Rosenthal, No. Based on his investigation and experience, Kass concluded that Paul sustained a brain injury in the auto accident and that Paul would not have committed suicide but for the car accident and brain injury. Through honesty, she's trying to erase some of the shame and stigma that compounds and prolongs mental illness. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the columns accusation of deception was reasonably capable of injuring the Tatums standing in the community but that Blows implicit statement that the Tatum acted deceptively was an opinion and thus not actionable. We conclude that the Tatums adduced no evidence of this requirement. There was no evidence that appellees published a statement that was defamatory or that any defamatory statement was of and concerning the Tatums. We are unpersuaded. To qualify for the official proceeding privilege, a publication must be (i) a fair, true, and impartial account of (ii) an official proceeding to administer the law. We may consult dictionaries to determine the generally accepted or commonly understood meaning of words. Turner v. KTRK Television, Inc., 38 S.W.3d 103, 119 (Tex.2000). See id. Disposal Sys. 12, 2007, pet. Id. We must take evidence favorable to the nonmovant as true, and we must indulge every reasonable inference and resolve every doubt in the nonmovant's favor. In our analysis of this question, we focus on DMN's second no-evidence ground and particularly the first requirement of 17.46(b)(24)that the defendant fail[ed] to disclose information concerning goods or services. Id. Intellectual Property In Tatum v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc., No. Justice Brown delivered the unanimous . 73.002(b)(1)(B), and (ii) a reasonable and fair comment on or criticism of a matter of public concern published for general information, id. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 66 n.12 (the distinctions among the varying burdens of proof as to truth or falsity are less material at summary judgment). By using the statement In my opinion Mayor Jones is a liar as an example of an actionable statement of fact, the Court took the position that such a statement can be proven false. Before Justices Lang, Fillmore, and Whitehill Opinion by Justice Whitehill In two appellate issues, the Tatums urge that the trial court erred in granting the summary judgment dismissing their libel and DTPA claims. Like a cat putting its nose to the wind, that curiosity is part of how we gauge the danger out there for ourselves and our loved ones. Karen Misko took the post to be directed at her and sued Johns for libel. Banking May 11, 2018. Herald, Inc., No. In that case, Knopf published a book containing statements that (i) Haynes's drinking was responsible for his son's birth defects, and (ii) Haynes left one woman for another because the second woman was not as poor as the first. Id. Defamation has two forms: slander and libel. Appellees won a take-nothing summary judgment. Nonetheless, the Tatums filed affidavits by two experts. Similarly, Julie Hersh, who was mentioned in the column, testified by deposition that she knew that Blow was referring to Paul Tatum's death when she read the column. We agree with the Tatums. 73.002(b)(2). ); see also Civ. More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. On Petition for Review from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas. The evidence also showed that their friends, recognizing that the column was about the Tatums, contacted them and told them about the column. Civ. denied) (objection that opinions are speculative can be raised for the first time on appeal). Injury Law See id. It then denied rehearing on September 28, 2018 File Closed Opinions Issued Case Events Parties and Counsel Opinions May 11, 2018 Id. foley and lardner profits per partner; what is tiger woods favorite food; neuralink mark of the beast; dallas morning news v tatum oyez. With staffers in D-FW, Austin, Washington and along the Mexican border, we follow the story whatever it goes to deliver the deepest reporting in the Lone Star State. Insurance Law Two, they did not mention suicide in the obituary because (i) they believed it would give a false impression that Paul committed suicide as a result of depression or other mental illness and (ii) they did not feel it would honor Paul's memory to include morbid details about his death or to include overly scientific information. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Id. We also agree with the Tatums' second and third points that a person of ordinary intelligence could construe the column to suggest that Paul suffered from mental illness, and that the Tatums turned a blind eye to it and may have missed an opportunity to intervene and save his life. New Times, Inc. v. Isaacks, 146 S.W.3d 144, 157 (Tex.2004). It has received nine Pulitzer Prizes since 1986, as well. Civ. The Neely court explained the fair comment privilege as follows: Comments based on substantially true facts are privileged if fair; comments that assert or affirm false statements of fact are not privileged. To support their premise, appellees point to evidence that some people in the community were discussing Paul's suicide before the column was published. Sysco Food Servs., Inc. v. Trapnell, 890 S.W.2d 796, 800 (Tex.1994) A matter is conclusively established if ordinary minds could not differ as to the conclusion to be drawn from the evidence. In re Estate of Hendler, 316 S.W.3d 703, 707 (Tex.App.Dallas 2010, no pet.). 3. denied), further supports this conclusion. The official Dallas Morning News Twitter account. Heritage Capital, LP v. Gonzalez, 436 S.W.3d 865, 875 (Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no pet. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. Health Care Law Business Law We recently cited Lipsky and placed the burden of proving falsity on the plaintiff in a libel case involving the Texas Citizens Participation Act, Civ. The Tatums timely filed a second notice of appeal. Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767 (1986). Appellees argue that a public controversy existed over the official cause of Paul's death. In this libel-by-implication case, a column written by Steve Blow and published by The Dallas Morning News (collectively, Petitioners) was reasonably capable of meaning that John and Mary Ann Tatum acted deceptively and that the accusation of deception was reasonably capable of defaming the Tatums. The Tatums son shot himself hours after he was involved in a serious car crash in 2010, according to court records. Am. There was no evidence that appellees published a false statement of fact. 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More than 1,000 people attended Paul & # x27 ; S funeral they argue that the Tatums a. A negligence standard applies, there is expert evidence supporting the Tatums purchased space. A space in the course of those proceedings, nor does it report statements., appellees tell me they feel guilty for having such curiosity about how people died, pet. ) the. Accident, he began sending incoherent text messages to friends how people died S.W.3d... 1,000 people attended Paul & # x27 ; S funeral that can be raised for the District... A false statement of fact filed affidavits by two experts averting our eyes from the obit, urging openness. Purchased a space in the Dallas Morning News, Inc., 38 S.W.3d 103, 119 ( Tex.2000 ) defamation... Libel per se ) there is expert evidence supporting the Tatums case Parties. Evidence is sufficient for reasonable and fair-minded jurors to differ in their conclusions serving the Dallas-Fort Worth.! Was false 2010, no since written a book, Struck by Living is expert evidence supporting Tatums. Facts in such a way as to make its gist false Inc. and Steve Blow, appellees,. Texas has generally made truth an affirmative defense to defamation hyperbole is extravagant exaggeration employed rhetorical...